Asmatic
by nightofthelivingwhatsoever
Summary: Erin, a recent move in from the States, has proven her worth to her new friend Shuichi, through her total badassery and quirkyness. But something not quite right about her, and to add to it, it seems like someone is after something of hers. Turns out, Erin is hiding a very dark secret.
1. Chapter 1

The work was passed out and most everyone except for Kurama was concentrating hard on getting it done before the weekend. Everything they had been studying, Kurama had read about in books a million times. Still, though, history was a fascinating subject. The class had finally gotten past everything that had happened in Japan by Easter, so now they were going through American history just to do something. Columbus was discovering America right about now, that's what the work was for. Kurama sighed to himself, leaning on his elbow and looked out the window.

_What a beautiful day it is. Shame I'm here repeating what I've already learned. Ah, well, the day shall end soon enough anyway. _

Kurama's mind was drawn from the rest of the world outside as the superintendent stepped into the room, followed by an unfamiliar girl right on his heels with the expression of a scarred bunny rabbit on her face. The two adults spoke briefly, and then the superintendent walked out, leaving the petrified girl standing at the teacher's desk. She handed Mr. Murikomo, the history teacher, a folder with a few sheets of paper sticking out of them.

"Alright, class, we have a new student. Please pay attention so we can get to know her and welcome her with open arms. Do you mind to tell us your name and a few things about yourself?" He gave her a kind smile and gestured her to stand in front of the room.

Her face was cherry red, but she followed his directions anyway, "Uh, my names Erin, I came from the United States, but I moved from Missouri."

Kurama looked to the rows across from him and saw their faces crack up with laughter, not from what she was saying, but how it sounded. She had a very thick southern drawl.

With a stern look from the teacher, many of the students calmed down, all except a boy from many of Kurama's classes. He was a bully and wasted most of the time hitting on girls. While everyone else went quiet for the moment, he let out a snicker, quiet, but loud enough for her to hear. Immediately she went bright red, bit her lip and looked toward the ground. Mr. Murikomo gave him a glare and pointed toward the door.

"Alright Erin, it's very nice to meet you, and I hope that you are welcomed here with open arms and minds alike. Let's see, well, it looks like the only seat available would be right there in the back." He said, pointing to the seat right across from Kurama.

Still red, the new girl took her seat in the very back row, feeling like very pair of eyes were on her. After she had slid into her seat beside Kurama, did everyone turn back to their own business. Erin glanced in Kurama's direction, giving him a small smile, "Hi, could you help me out a little for today? I have no clue where I'm supposed to be goin." She said with absolutely no shyness in her voice.

"Sure, I don't mind a bit, but don't bother opening your books, class is almost over." He smiled back.

"Oh, thanks, that's awful kind of you." The bell rang and several of the students and the teacher exited the room.

"My name is Shuichi by the way." He said as he gathered his things and took a look at her class schedule. As the pair headed to the door, the boy who had been sent out during class came back in to collect his things. Kurama had come to know that his name was Digon, and of course the immature youth couldn't help but to emit a giggle as Erin strolled by him, books in hand. Looking around and finding only the three of them in the room, she whirled around to face him and, getting within inches of Digon's face, she sneered at him.

"Do you have a problem with the way I talk?" She stared at him with a look of death in her eyes, they were equal in height although, Erin's threatening stance made him appear to shrink.

"No, ma'am" He didn't appear threatened, but her look made the smile on his face disappear.

"I didn't think so, but if you ever snicker at me again, I'll pluck that Adam's apple right out of your throat." With that she turned on her heels and exited the room with her new found friend, Shuichi, gaping at her heels.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen anyone make him look like that before, it's about time someone took him down to size." He laughed as they stopped at a locker, "You papers say that this is you locker."

"Alright then, I guess we go home now don't we." She said, putting her things away, "You know, I don't know why people make fun of the way I talk. I sound perfectly normal to me; you people are the ones who sound different." She smiled at her own logic.

"Yeah, that would make sense. I don't like people who think it's their right to sneer at people's differences, it's not very nice." They walked down the street to the bus stop and parted ways.

"It was very nice to meet you, Shuichi, thank you for helping me." Erin smiled at him at boarded the bus.

"It was nice meeting you too, and you're welcome. I would ride the bus with you, but I'm meeting some friends. I'll see you tomorrow." He brushed his hair back with one hand.

"See you tomorrow." She went up the bus steps and took her seat, waving at him as he walked by.

Erin sighed to herself and slid down in her seat, she had had a long day and she was exhausted. She closed her eyes for just a few moments when the bus jerked to a stop and she went face first into the seat in front of her. She glanced out the bus window to see that she had arrived at her house. Gathering her things and trotting off the bus, Erin ran across the street, up the front porch steps and inside the house. Her Irish wolfhound, Max, sat at her toes with his leash and harness between his jaws.

"Wanna go for a run, Maxy? Ok, hold on, let me get changed." She went up the stairs with max at her heals and changed into a jogging suit and pulled her hair up. She hooked the upper body harness on to herself, then Max, and they bound out the door. Max's weight and size was overwhelming to anyone who didn't use the harness to walk him, which was what it was for. The harness helps distribute the weight of massive dogs to the upper body of the walker, so they don't get dragged, and the dog isn't choked by the collar. Although it is safe, Erin did catch quite a few strange looks as they ran down the streets. When they finally came back to their house, Erin let Max off his harness to play in the back yard. Max was very obedient, so she knew he wouldn't leave the yard without her command. She smiled and went to get the mail box, which was connected to the whole blocks' mailboxes at the end of the street. She grabbed the mail out of her box and slammed the lid shut. Mail in hand, she walked back to the house, thoroughly exhausted now, but about halfway there she heard soft steps behind her. She picked up her steps, and so did the footsteps. Her breath quickened and she ran the rest of the way there. As she turned to go up to the porch, she felt a hand grab her arm. She whirled around to hit whoever grabbed her, but stopped, because it was the boy from school, Shuichi.

"I didn't mean to scare you, I seen you down there and wanted to say hello, but you walked away. I called your name, but you didn't hear me." He smiled at her, but it quickly changed, "Are you all right?" He looked at her, she was gasping. She was holding her throat and chest with her hands and an awful wheezing came from her throat. "What's wrong, Erin, are you ok, do you have asthma?" He helped sit down, but the wheezing was only getting worse. Her face was turning red, then purple, then blue. She was trying to say something, but he couldn't understand it. Her vision was blurred, but she seen him fade away, still calling her name.

Night: Wow! It's been awhile since I've seen this one, originally started a year and a half, finished about five minutes ago. Hoped you enjoyed it, reviews welcomed, haters will be shot, and survivors will be shot again. *evil laugh*


	2. Chapter 2

Erin regained consciousness an hour later in the hospital with a worried face looking over her. Her breaths came out in wheezing gasps and her throat hurt to swallow.

"Good God, Erin, you nearly gave me a heart attack, why didn't you tell me that you had asthma?" Shuichi said with a tone of shock and fear.

"Well, you didn't exactly ask, besides,_ you_ nearly gave _me _a heart attack! Didn't your momma ever teach you not to sneak up on people like that? Aw, don't worry 'bout me Hun, I'm fine." She added the last comforting note at the site of his disbelieving look.

"I tried to use your inhaler for you, but it didn't work, so I called an ambulance." He told her, taking it out of his pocket.

"It should have, let me see it." She fiddled with the cylinder and popped it back into the plastic base, with one press the medicated mist shot out of the mouth piece. She took a puff from it and handed it back to him. "There, now it does, this little metal part here was caught on the sprayer and it wasn't pushed down all the way. It does that sometimes." She explained and showed him how to fix it.

"I can't believe I nearly killed you, and all I had to do was take it back out and push it back in." he shook his head in self-disappointment.

"It's fine really, you didn't know, so it's alright. When can we get out of here, anyway?" Getting out of the bed, she slipped her clothed on under the hospital gown and pulled her hair up.

"We can leave now since the doctor said you were going to be fine." Shuichi followed her to the front desk and checked Erin out.

"Well, now that ordeal is over, ya wanna come over to my house? Maybe we can avoid some sorta life changing tragedy on the way. "Erin grinned up at him.

"Yeah, sure, I don't have to be home for awhile anyway. I put your dog in the house when they took you to the hospital, he might be getting antsy."

"Naw, Max doesn't get nervous unless someone's in the house that I didn't let in. He's fine."

Erin led Shuichi up the porch steps, and dug under a plant on the porch for the keys. When the door opened, Max practically tackled Erin, his body looming over hers.

"Max get down; don't mind him, Hun, Max likes to squish people. " Erin pushed the giant dog off of her, "Sorry, 'bout the mess in here. I'm still unpacking. Hey, how 'bout we pop in a movie and order takeout or something. I'm starvin'." Erin cut open a big box marked **LIVING ROOM **and pulled out a DVD player.

"Yeah, sure, I'll go get the food, and you set things up, if you're well enough, that is. While I'm out, I'll drop by my house and tell mother I'll be a little late, I hope she won't mind." He dialed then takeout number and was on his way out (after several assurances by Erin that she was fine and it happened all the time), while Erin got busy trying to determine which cord from which in a massive knot of plug-ins.

_**Shuichi's p.o.v**_

_ Such an interesting girl, she seemed not phased a bit by that incident on her porch. I have a feeling something is off about her, nothing seems to bother her. It also seems like she's completely alone in that house, she must have a guardian somewhere. Hmmm… she's indeed very peculiar. _

When Shuichi got back, he noticed the door was completely open and Max was no were to be seen. He ran up the steps, fearing the worst, but instead, seen that everything was fine. Erin, however, looked frightened out of her skin.

"What's wrong Erin, what happened?" Shuichi sat their dinner down and sat beside her on the stairs.

"Oh, nothing, just something unexpected popped up outta nowhere. It's fine, really. Come on, we best get to eating before it gets old. I'm playing some old Hitchcock movie I have if that's okay with you." She got up cheerfully and lay on her belly in front of the T.V, with the food in between them.

"That's great; I love black and white movies." He sat down with her, still pondering what had upset her so much. They enjoyed the rest of the evening absorbed in the T.V screen

Night: Well, that's it for Chappie number two. Hope ya'll liked it, sorry if it's too short, I wanted to get it done before the next ice age. The next one's on the way!!

Kurama: How'd you know I like Hitchcock?

Night: you seem like a person that would like that kind of stuff.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: heh heh…woops I kinda promised you guys that I'd put another chapter on soon…..a year ago SORRY! I got side tracked but I promise to update every month or so from now on…if I don't feel free to lynch me. ENJOY!

After her new friend had left for the night Erin went to her room and collapsed on the floor, the old boards creaking under her body. She folded her arms over her head and groaned. Max came up next to her and lay down, resting his heavy head on her stomach.

"Max, fetch the mail please." She uncovered her face and looked down at his large black eyes, then gently pushed his head off of her and smiled as he got up and ran downstairs to the basket on the table that held the mail. In a moment he was back again, with the paper and few other letters in his mouth, he waited for the "good boy" before he settled back down beside her again.

Erin sat up; spreading the mail out in front of her and dug out the opened letter she had hidden from Shuichi's sight between the paper and junk mail. Something told her that he would've noticed something off about it, so she hid it before he could get back. If you just glanced at it, it looked like an ordinary 8x5 envelope that any other letter would be sent in to someone; but when you really looked at it, you could start to see a swirling detailed design that sparked in the light and had her name printed in swirling gold lettering. The whole envelop was covered in blue, green and gold sparkles and gold ink (which was probably _real_ gold); it just screamed weird. The letter inside however, was just plain cream colored stationary with the messaged neatly handwritten on the thick paper. The man that had given it to her had just barged in as soon as Shuichi had left to get the food and forced it into her hand, bid her good evening and left. Although she hadn't known the deliverer, she did know without a doubt what the letter was for. She traced along the letters before reading it again;

**Ms. Erin James,**

**You are cordially invited to The Dark Tournament as a guest to once again compete for the title of Grand Champion. As a returning guest you know the consequences for failure to compete in the tournament. In 6 months you and your team are expected to be present on the ferry going to the tournaments location for opening ceremonies. We ****highly ****suggest that your team be ready for this year's competition. Do not forget, we WILL be observing you, and we shall keep in touch. **

**With highest regards,**

**The Dark Tournament Committee of Contenders**

Erin sat there for awhile, stroking the tips of Max's ears before she stretched for the phone on the nightstand and her old phone book from a box under the bed. The old phone book looked like all the pages were about to fall out and it was certainly not in alphabetical order like most, but she found the number easily enough, since it was the only one that didn't have a name above it. The phone only rang once before someone answered.

"Alson, you there Hun?" Erin couldn't hear anything on the other end, but someone had picked up.

"Yeah, I'm here Del, I assume you got one as well; that's the only reason you would call." His voice was courser than she remembered, but she still detected the joking tone in his voice.

"Now you know better than to start that with me, you're about a jump, hop and a skip away from visitin' me, why don't you ever come over?" They both laughed at their banter then went on to discuss what Erin had actually called him about.

"Anyway, sugar, I did in fact get the invitation about 3 hours ago. Did you call Lina yet? She's the only one that can track down the others." Erin put her hand over the receiver to hush Max, who was scratching and whining at the closed door.

"Yeah I called her; apparently they all got an invite around the same time, just like last time." He chuckled slightly as Erin heard him flop down in a chair.

"So, will we be ready? It's been a long time, I'm sure I've forgotten most of what I've been taught. We should all meet up in a month to get back in the groove of things, call me in a couple days and we'll set up a meeting place." Max's whining grew louder as he started to pace the room.

"Are you kidding me Del? You were the best of us all; if you've forgotten, then we're screwed. Is the dog okay, I can hear him whining?"

"Okay, for one, don't call me Del, you know I hate that. Two, we're only screwed if the rest of the team suck too, and three, I don't know what's wrong with him; he's normally not like this. Somethin' s wrong Alson; I'll wait for your call, okay? Bye Hun." She hung the phone up and patted Max on the back, but that didn't calm him down.

"What's wrong, buddy, somethin' the matter?" Max looked up at her and scratched at the door again. Erin put her ear to the door, but she didn't hear anything. Against her better judgment, she decided to let the dog out; Max was so big, he would take down anyone who came up to him if he needed too. Erin reached behind her without taking her eyes from the door and grabbed the twin barrel shot gun she always kept loaded beside in the closet. Max shot out the door as soon as she opened it, barreling down the stairs and headed straight for the door. Erin crept down to where Max was now barking madly, careful to make as little noise as possible. As she got closer she could hear pounding on the door as someone tried to break it down from the other side. Max sat back on his haunches, barring his teeth; his light gray coat standing slightly on end. She grabbed Max by his collar and pulled him with her into the next room where they couldn't be seen from the door. From her angle, Erin could see through the window slightly beside her; there were two or three on her porch; all teenagers, one was just standing there with his back to her and the others were at the door. They were all clothed in black and had from the one she could see, crow bars and hunting knives in their hands.

Erin put her hand around Max's muzzle to keep him quiet and pulled back both hammers on the gun. The hinges were weak on the front door from years of use, but the deadbolt Erin had just put on two days ago was still holding. The door took two more assaults before the door frame shattered and the hinges popped free of the door, sending it swinging by the bolt. The intruders kicked it the rest of the way down, stomping on the door as they came in. Erin let go of Max, hushing him the second he started to growl; she crept along the wall until she was a step away from facing the people in her house. She snuck a looked from the very corner of her eye; all of them taller than she, but hardly stronger. The tallest of the three, about 6 feet, motioned for one to go into the room in front of him (where Erin was hiding ) and the other down the hall, while he would take the upstairs. The person that was assigned the living room wasn't armed; he didn't even have the muscle mass to hold up anything heavier than five pounds. The poor kid, he was probably no older than 15, which meant he was 3 years younger than Erin. She figured he didn't need to get any serious injuries from this, so she silently walked up from behind and bopped him once on the head the butt of the gun. She caught him before he hit the floor to prevent the noise; he would be out long after this ordeal was over.

Next, she went after the other scrawny one, he had gone down the hall leading to spare bedrooms and closets. She knew she had to show some sort of bravery, but her skin still crawled with nerves as she opened the first door. The knob should turn (it is an old house), so he wouldn't have gone there. The second and third rooms were empty as well, including the closet next to them. Due to a process of elimination, he could only be in one more room before going through the back kitchen door, which was the forth bedroom in the very back of the hall. Erin hadn't even gone into that room, so she didn't know if it was locked or jammed. However, she didn't even get to find out; the door was already open. She pushed it open the rest of the way with the barrel of the gun, just in case this one was armed like the big guy.

This room wasn't like the upstairs when Erin had moved in, all 3 of the upstairs rooms were totally empty, not even a sheet was left behind; this room though, was filled with stuff. It looked like junk, just old boxes (that were probably empty) and dusty old sheets and picture frames laid about. There was an antique dresser and parts to a bed frame in one corner, and the wallpaper was peeling off. The burglar was kneeling in the closet, stuffing what looked like old silver into a bag. Her footsteps didn't make a sound when she walked up behind him; she noticed that this room had carpeting instead of the all wood floors that were put in 25 years ago, which seemed odd. She was right behind him now, so close she could smell the fear of being caught on him. He was still stuffing whatever he could get his hands on into his backpack when she tapped him on the shoulder with tip of the twin barrels. He shot up and was about to bolt, but Max reared up on his hind legs and snarled; the boy quickly backed up against the closet door.

Erin cracked a sarcastic smile and held the barrels to his throat, holding a finger to her mouth to signal him to stay quiet.

"Here's the deal; you're going to tell me why you're in my house and what you're looking for and I **might **think about not shooting you. If I were you, honey bunch, I'd think real fast on my deal, 'cause it expires real soon"

His eyes got wider than dinner plates as Erin now shifted her aim directly in his eyes; "Oh God, I swear to the lord, lady, the guy that hired us said the people that lived here were on vacation. He told us to just look around for some old green box and bring it to him and take random stuff to make it look like a random break in. I'm telling the truth I swear, please don't kill me!" He looked as though he were about to wet himself.

"Okay, what did this guy look like? What did he pay you for this?" Erin could hear the floorboards creaking above her, meaning the other guy hadn't hear them talking.

"Uh, he was a short man, kinda piggish. I could tell he was loaded, he paid us $200 for the job." Erin let him slide to the floor, and then waited for the last one to come back down stairs.

Night: well, that was a long one! Some readers have said that my stories are too short, so I guess this is compensation. As for the slang and phrases, these are things that me and my family say, so I do know what I'm talking about, so I'm not just making this stuff up out of stereotypes. The next chapter will be along shortly.


	4. Chapter 4

Night: Well, I told you I would get the forth chapter up soon! I'm very proud of myself! Hopefully the procrastination bug doesn't bite me!

Do not own any characters 'cept my own.

As Erin listened for the right moment for the guy in charge to get close to the stairs, she realized something unsettling; she couldn't hear anymore footsteps. Erin made sure to keep still, frozen in her tracks. The big guy probably had at least fifty pounds on her and if he wised up to her presence, she wasn't sure if she could get out of this without a scratch; unfortunately, the scrawny one behind her just didn't know how to be quiet. Erin was sure the lummox upstairs hadn't gotten a clue that something was up downstairs, she didn't even noticed the guy she had trapped behind her start to inch his way towards the window to his right and smash the glass with a scrap of board.

"Oh no you don't!" Erin whirled around in time to catch the burglar jumping through the gaping hole he'd made. Without thinking, Erin shot off the right barrel of her gun into the darkness; he had gotten away.

"Oh, crap, that was really loud." The kick back on that shotgun could push a person back a foot or two and her shoulder hurt. She heard thundering footsteps going down the hall; heading toward the stairs. Beside her, Max started to growl. Ever since he was a puppy he had been taught to protect his owner and home no matter what and by God he was going to do it.

"Max, we gotta hide, okay? We gotta get outta here." Erin tried to pull him by the collar, but the dog weighed more than she did and wasn't willing to go quite just yet. Max yanked free of her grip and bound through the door, going to meet the thief at the bottom of the staircase.

"Crap" Erin looked down at the shot gun for a second; she only had one shell left and if she missed she wouldn't be able to take the big guy down, and that would leave her in real trouble. But she couldn't just leave her dog behind to meet whatever fate Max was headed to, she loved that old dog. So with a sigh, Erin followed Max to the stairs to put an end to this nonsense.

Erin stood beside the foot of the stairs, hiding behind an inn table with a large vase on it. The Thief had gotten to the top of the stairs and started descending them, cautiously; he had noticed it had gotten quiet again. Max seen that the threat to him and his owner was still and took his opportunity. Teeth bared, the goliath of a canine walked up the first three steps, every inch of his fur stood on end; to Erin he looked like a giant, rabid wolf, ready to rip apart its prey. Apparently, the burglar must've thought Max was a yowling puppy, because he just snorted and pulled a knife with a blade length of at least 8 inches; a hunting knife.

"Here poochy-poochy." The large man smirked, sauntering down the steps with a heavy thump with each step. Max launched himself at the man, his front paws hitting him square in the chest. The man put up the arm without the knife in it to stop the dog from clamping down on his throat, then used the awkward positioning of the canine's upper body to launch it down the stairs by its jaw. Max yelped as his body hit the stair banister and somersaulted into the hallway were Erin was waiting to get a clear shot. Erin crawled over to her dog, who was whimpering a trying to get up, but Erin pushed him down again. The man hopped the banister, landing square on his feet, and right in front of a shot gun.

"Big mistake, you yella bellied snivelin' snake." She didn't want to hurt anyone, but she would if she had to. She had him in her crosshairs, but didn't see him inch his hand toward that vase until he broke it against the side of her head. Erin cried out in surprise while the robber grabbed for the gun. She felt something hot running down her face and had ceramic shards in her hair, but no matter what, she was not going to let him take her gun.

He flung her around on the other end the gun, but Erin refused to let go; stubborn as a mule, she was. He had turned them both sideways; Erin's back now facing the hallway and his facing the busted door. With a shove, the man rammed the butt of the weapon into Erin's ribs; making her squeeze the trigger. The man grunted, falling to the ground, there was blood seeping out of his shirt, but not in gaping holes like standard buck shot double barrel pump-action shot gun shell; no these would were small and circular, but too small to be bird shot. These holes were about a millimeter in diameter with irregular peppered flecks around them. Erin could hear him yowling before her ears had even stopped ringing.

"AHH! What did you do to me! It burns! Oh God it burns!" He squirmed on his back, looking down at his flesh wound, his face twisted in pain.

"Ya like it, you sonofawhore? It my special mix of plastic BB's and rock salt; I use it to wound and disable people that trespass on my property. Oh quit yer whinin' it's only a flesh wound, the pellets don't even get close to the muscle; you'll be fine, but you'll more n' likely pass out from the pain soon enough." Someone had called the police; she could hear the sirens coming down her street.

Just by chance she happened to look into the living room where she had incapacitated the little one of the three. No one was there; he had escaped.

"Tougher than he looked." She commented to herself; cop cars surrounding her house. The man she had shot lay on the floor, barely conscious. She stepped over him; kicking the knife he had dropped away from him and stumbled out the shattered door frame with her hands out in front of her to show she was of no threat to them.

A couple of police pulled her to the side; making her sit on an ambulance gurney. There were six policemen at the scene; two with Erin, two checking out the direction that the second burglar had taken off in, one securing the scene and taking statements and the last inside the house.

"Do you have any idea what those people were looking for inside your house?" The two police officers with Erin were older gentlemen, in their fifties; polite, not badgering like beat cops were sometimes.

"Well, seein' as those folks were rummaging around the place, I would say anything they could get their hands on that could fetch a few bucks." She winced as the paramedic cleaned and bandaged the cut on her forehead. She knew it was wrong (and illegal) to lie to the police, but for the time being, Erin thought it might be better to keep a few details vague until she could sort this out herself. So no, she didn't speak to the robbers nor did they speak to her; she didn't see any of their faces and yes, that was the whole story.

The policeman that was inside her house came jogging up to her side as Erin was telling them she didn't need to go to the hospital. He asked her if she were sure that there were three men that entered her home.

"Pretty sure. Unless one of them turned out to be a muscular woman, you never know." The policeman said that the man she had claimed to have shot was not on the premises; the man she had gave a general description of- tall, muscular- was not found in the hallway like Erin had told them; nothing was there except ceramic vase pieces.

"That Wiley Coyote! Must've snuck out through the kitchen when you weren't lookin' for him." The cop asked her if she knew for a fact if anything was missing.

"Naw, I don't really care what they took; really, all my stuff is still packed up in those boxes. Whatever they got their hands on was either there when I got here or it's worthless." Erin told them that she wouldn't file a claim and she would fix the door herself (it was old anyway), but they could take her dog down to the vet. The sun began to rise shortly after. The police finished up with the reports and question and the vet's employees lugged Max into the animal hospital transport van; it took 3 of them to get him in there, he weighs upward of two hundred pounds.

Erin spent the next two hours sitting by the paramedics, insisting that she was fine and she didn't need a C.A.T scan. They were convinced she had a concussion, but if she refused medical treatment, then they couldn't do anything about it. The officers were wrapping up the scene by now, but keeping up the tape to keep the reporters out of their hair. In the end she almost had to push them out to get them to leave, telling them she had to go to school.

Erin stumbled over the broken mess of her front door and went into the kitchen, grabbing a bag of ice from the freezer and putting it to her head. She spent the rest of the day cleaning up and calling a few people; mainly her school and the hardware store for a new door. When that was done she flopped down on the floor, pulling a box over to her and opened it. She rifled through it for moment before pulling out a large wooden jewelry box. In it she retrieved a shimmering green box, the same that the robbers were looking for. Erin picked up her phone and dialed a number, when the other person picked up she said five simple words;

"Next month, tell the others." And she hung up; there was no need for conversation.

She bound up the stairs and dug under her bed for her suitcase; she was almost shocked at the state of her bedroom; that guy had really done a number on it, but it wasn't as bad as it seemed just her dresser torn all to bits and her closet contents strewn all over the floor. She stuffed some clothes and shoes in, along with a black bundle, a small blanket and the green box and her invitation. She tossed it by the door along with another pack filled with basic survival supplies; matches, first-aid kit, some dehydrated food, bottled water and several knives just in case.

She went into the bathroom to grab her travel toothbrush and toothpaste and soap, looking at herself in the mirror. Her cut on her head had began to bleed again (she probably would've need stitches) and large bruises coming down from her head wound and on her arms and ribs from hitting the walls and stairs during the struggle. People had told her that her mother bruised easy, like her, it was because of her snowy-white pale skin. She threw the things she had retrieved with the rest of her things; running back down the stairs to get her ice pack.

She gingerly held the pack to her head and started unpacking some boxes. She took out all of her photographs and laid them out onto the floor biggest to smallest. She walked across the room with a large photo of a flyer for the French circus building Cirque d'Hiver. It was her favorite because it was over 30 years old and belonged to her parents.

She took a step back to analyze its position and felt a hand come down on her shoulder. Without thinking, she swung her right leg back, sweeping the feet of the person behind her right out from underneath them.

"Oh, it's you!" her eyes widened at the person on the ground.

Night: Done, thankfully, it didn't take as long as I thought it would. The next will be along shortly! Please review! I don't know how I'm doing unless you tell me!


	5. Chapter 5

Night: Oh gosh it has been so long! well my computer has just gotten to the point of typing capacity without crashing...so with no delay here's the chap!

OoOoOo

Erin yanked Shuichi up right, brushing some dirt off his shoulder.

"What happened here!? I could hear the cops all the way from my house and you didn't show up today, are you ok?" Shuichi handed her back the ice pack, brushing back some hair from her face to take a better look at her injuries.

"Oh nothin' really, just some igits thought they'd be bright and break in my front door." Seeing his confuzed look, she elaborated; "Uh, stupid people." She made a mental reminder to use more easily understood terms.

"Oh. Your idioms are quite...different." He shot a smile at her as he walked around, assessing the damage.

"Don't worry 'bout that, hun," Erin pulled him away from the door remains and into the kitchen, "Want somethin' to eat? I could use a peanut butter 'n honey sandwhich m'self." She rustled though the half stocked cabinets, examing a jar of crystallized honey from the fridge. "Dammit, worthless..." She mumbled under her breath. She stopped mid pace with her hand to her head, she shook it off as if she were rubbing her sore eye, but what she had sensed coming was still there.

"I've never had the opportunity to try one before." He examined a jar of the brown spread Erin had set out onto the counter.

"Whaaaa...how is that even possible!?" Erin tossed the inedible honey into the garbage.

"I have heard peanut butter, but it isn't sold much in Japan."

"Tell yah what, hun, why don't you run upstairs 'n grab the big wicker basket outta the closet at the end of the hall by my bedroom? We're gonna make a picnic outta this." She grinned at the boy. As Shuichi to retrieve what she had asked for, Erin stood in the mangled doorway, gazing out nervously. Whoever or whatever she had sensed in the kitchen was still there, unseen, but lurking. A dark spirit that sent shivers down her spine was watching carefully, observing her like a mouse under a microscope. Or maybe just waiting for her to leave.

"Everything alright?" Shuichi joined her side, large wicker basket in hand.

"Oh, yeah. I was just waiting for the city workers to install the new door; they should be coming up anytime." Erin took the basket from him, tossing everything they would need for their meal into it, "Here's a job for yah. You can take this out the back 'n put it in my pick-up, I'll be right out. Erin stuck a thumb in the direction of the back door and when Shuichi was out of sight, bound up the stairs to grab the shimmering box from her packs.

"I didn't know you drove." Shuichi leaned out of the passenger side window and yelled to her.

"Yeah, back home I needed some transportation, this is what I ended up with." She patted the rusted blue Ford's hood lovingly. Taking advantage of Shuichi with his back turned, Erin buried the box deep under the blanket she had packed.

'_Let's see them steal it now.' _She smirked.

"Are you sure you want to leave before they put the new door on?" The installer's backed the truck clear up the front steps.

"Psh, anythin' worth stealing would have been stole. That door best be reinforced, I do not like shootin' people that act a fool 'n then run off; makes me look like the batch of moonshine I got cookin' in the tub blew up in my face 'n I just made up the whole thing!." Erin grinned at Shuichi trying his hardest not to correct her grammar.

"You were brewing liquor in your bathtub?" The look he gave her was like she was growing a tree out of her forehead.

"Shoot, naw," Erin pulled out from the side drive onto the street, "That's just an expression we use in my family after my cousin, Little Gary, nearly kill't himself stirring up a batch once. He swore Bob Hope was followin' him for two months."

After driving for several miles, Erin turned onto an old back road on the outskirts of town. Through all the dips and sharp turns, it was clear Shuichi was getting a bit carsick; even at the low speed; Erin told him the spot was right ahead of them. Pulling into a cattle gait access, Erin looked proudly at Shuichi and said: "Get out."

"Where are we?" He asked, taking the basket from her.

"Dunno, but this is the best place as ever for it." Erin undid the makeshift gate; which was really just barb wire and branch turned post fastened together and stuck in the ground. She gestured for him to go through, "Doesn't that sign say no trespassing?" He asked.

"Who cares 'long as we don't get caught and don't let whatever's in this field out, we'll be fine." Erin led him in the field for a distance, finally settling them underneath a drooping tree. She asked Shuichi to set up for them, while she got the last ingredient.

"Stay put, will yah hun? Don't want yah gettin' stung." She winked at him before traipsing off through the weeds towards half of a rotting tree jutting from the earth.

"Okay. Wait, what!" He started to follow her, but Erin quickly waved him back. "You are gonna scare 'em like that. Quit your worrying, I can't tell you how many times I've done this." She edged up the log; covered in big, fat honeybees.

Without even an ounce of hesitation or fear, She reached in and broke off a big chunk of honey comb, as she backed away Erin squeezed her trophy into its container.

"Let that settle a little before you crack it open." She placed the jar in his hands, licking her fingers. "Some types of bees attack when they sense fear, or pretty much any high level emotion." Erin chuckled, up turning the basket and setting everything about (careful to keep the box hidden), "You gotta keep yourself in control, otherwise you're gonna have a swarm on your ass and I don't see a pond around here." She fixed them both a sandwich, taking the jar from him and drizzling the honey in a waterfall motion and handing one to him. Erin flopped on down on her belly and chowed down, motioning for Shuichi to do the same.

After a while, the questions in Shuichi gnawed their way to the surface, sitting his uneaten sandwich down, he turned to face her.

"Erin?" She didn't acknowledge him, "Erin." She stared off still, "Hey, Erin!" Shuichi shook her shoulder, at last getting her attention, but when she turned her head, he seen something in her eyes. Like she didn't know she was being talked to, like she didn't recognize her own name being called.

"Yes? Sorry I was a little distracted." She smiled at him, the look completely gone.

"I couldn't help but notice the bags in your room when I was upstairs. If you don't mind me asking, are you planning on going somewhere?" Erin looked slightly surprised at the question, but eventually nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'm thought I'd take a little trip here in bit. Won't be gone long though, don't worry about it." She brushed the topic aside; instead she suggested they finish their meal. She sat a few containers, a thermos, and a bag of chips between them.

"I have no idea what is in these, I just grabbed stuff out of the fridge." Erin paused for a moment, sensing Shuichi's curiosity. She let out a huff, "I'm going to get my lungs fixed. My asthma is getting worse and the inhaler isn't working anymore. So I'm going to a place where I can get back my lungs, like they were before this happened to me."

"Oh, ok. I hope you get the necessary treatment to regain your lung function." The red head absent mindedly popped a chip into his mouth, letting the information sink in a bit.

"OH MY GOD! What are those!? They're sour!" Shuichi's face looked like he was in pain as he forced himself to swallow the potato chip, Erin howled on the ground across from him as he tried to get the taste out of his mouth.

"Haven't you ever had salt and vinegar potato chips? I love these things!" She giggled, taking a few for herself.

"No, I think they are disgusting. I don't know how you can eat them." He took a drink from the thermos.

"Oh gosh. You know, this was fun."

**MEANWHILE **

A man winced in pain as rubber pellets were dug out of his skin with tweezers. He yelped like a wounded animal, making the two standing beside him snicker. A person in scrubs and surgical mask gave him half of a dirty look, scolding him to lie still on the table and not to move while they removed the foreign objects. As the last pellets came out, the man groaned, sucking in air through clenched teeth, the other two giggling harder.

"Shut up! It's not funny!" The injured man snapped at them.

"He's finished, Doctor." The nurse gathered their things and exited the room.

"Thank you, Nhi. Now if we can get down to business, I would like to know HOW IN THE HELL WAS THIS A FAILURE!?" A tall man sitting at a desk slammed his fist down onto its surface. "You had one job, ONE JOB! All you had to do was retrieve what was mine, and yet you three can't even manage that simple task." He leaned forward in the light, revealing his middle aged face and 5 o'clock stubble, sighing deeply he said: "Give me a reason why I shouldn't euthanize your worthless hides and get myself some new talent that will not be such a _disappointment_."

"We're sorry, sir. She got the drop on us, took out Shu before we even knew she was there." The injured man pointed out to the youngest among them. "If anyone is a disappointment, it's Shin." He glared at the middle man with the shaven head.

"Psh, I got out when it was smart to do so. At least I didn't get shot by some teenager" The man called Shin shot back.

"I don't care whose fault it is, you all failed me. Shu, Shin, Sho, you are the best money can buy; I expect the next time I deploy you, you come back with results. This is not just some _teenager _you dealing with, she is capable of so much more, all she needs is the proper….handling; and with that box, I shall uncover her true potential." The three's employer took out a file and envelope, handling them to the injured man, Sho.

"Yes, Doctor, we understand. What is our next assignment?" Sho pulled a large wad of cash out of the envelope, divvying it up equally between the three of them.

"Keep an eye on the girl, soon she will be preparing for the next Dark Tournament. I expect you to retrieve the box by its start." The doctor waved them out of the room, ordering the door shut on their way out.

As the three left, they examined the contents of the folder, as they read each page they started to grin.

"Well, gentlemen, this changes everything." Sho tucked the papers away, as the three vanished away to stalk their prey.

**OoOoOo**

Shuichi sat in his history class the next day, the chair next to him still empty with three minutes until the late bell rang. The teacher had yet to arrive also, which was also quite strange. As the bell rang, both student and teacher were still absent. Shuichi sat straight, listening quietly for the sound of foot falls, doors opening, anything out in the halls that would explain the unusual absences, but nothing. The class didn't seem to mind, they busied themselves with mindless chatter.

"_I heard she got expelled for breaking and entering." _

Shuichi's interest perked in the direction of this comment, a small group of students were grouped together in the corner, the boy who made the comment gestured towards Erin's empty chair.

"_That's not true; she got arrested for owning an illegal animal. That dog she has is actually half wolf." _Another girl quipped.

_"That's what I heard; sh__e was arrested because that thing was rabid and attacked someone! I saw the animal hospital take it away and an ambulance drive off." _The girl who said this just happened to be Erin's block neighbor. Soon, the whole class was involved in the discussion. It seemed that somebody had heard about the incident the day before, and now the flood gates were wide open. Everyone had some sort of story to tell, each one as from the truth as the next. Thievery, rabid half-wolves, assaulting a police officer; most didn't even make any sense, like one students theory that she had come into the country illegally and the police extradited her out of the country after a three hour standoff in which she refused to release her hostages.

"That is just preposterous." Shuichi threw at them.

"Well, then, do you know what happened over there? Everyone here knows you're friends with that weird chick." The girl with the wolf-dog theory asked.

Shuichi gazed at them with mild disgust, "Why don't you ask her yourself? Unlike some of you, I prefer to gather all the facts before spreading wild assumptions about other people." He was disappointed with his peers, such cruel outright lies could destroy someone, but at least some of his classmates had the decency to lower their heads in shame.

"Well, gee, don't I just feel like the belle of the ball? Didn't know I was so popular, well now, don't I feel all kinds a special?" Erin sauntered into the room, followed by the teacher. She stood at the front for a moment, taking a quick puff from her inhaler to ease the wheezing that was already surfacing. "Shuichi's right, if ya'll wanna know, all yah gotta do is ask." She stepped around the group of gossipers to get to her seat.

"Hmph, I bet I already know. I heard the cops talking, saying you shot a guy, but when they went in there, they couldn't find anyone, not a trace; must have been the meth fumes messing with your head." Digon snickered from his seat, taking a jab at her home state's infamy with the drug.

Erin stopped dead in her tracks beside Digon's seat. A cold stare came across her face, suddenly she slammed her fist down on his desk with an ear shattering boom that the next door classroom probably heard. Leaning down, she grabbed the back of his neck by the nape to keep him down; reaching into her pocket she produced something small and red.

"You see this shell?" She asked, waving a spent gunshot casing centimeters from his nose, "I guarantee that this is the exact shell that I unloaded into the guy that broke into my house night before last."

Shuichi was surprised by Erin's behavior, she was usually so sweet and kind, now she looked…dangerous.

Erin continued; "I guarantee that, judging by the sounds of that guy's screams and the blood pourin' out his chest, that stranger was real. Now, I don't know where he went, or who he was, but let me just say something right now; if I could shoot a total stranger, what makes you think that I wouldn't do the same to you?" The last part coming out in a barely audible hiss, by now she was squeezing the back of his neck so hard her knuckles were white.

"Erin, stop! You're going to hurt him, Erin, you need to stop." Shuichi grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the now terrified boy. At first, she roughly jerked away from him, but then eased away when she realized who had ahold of her. Shuichi gazed in her eyes, catching a glimpse of the dead look they held, which he had seen in the field. They quickly changed back, however, and Erin composed herself. She calmly continued her way to her seat, but not before gently setting the shell down on Digon's desk.

"What the hell was that! Aren't you going to do anything about her, she clearly a psychopath." Digon vented at the teacher, who had continued to write the day's lessons onto the board.

"I will do something about her, when you learn not to instigate. From what I heard, it was you who asked for it, so I suggest you return to your seat now, because we are going to learn about the English invasion of America." The teacher scolded him.

Erin smirked at her triumph, and enjoyed the rest of the day in peace. As soon as the bell had rang, she headed home, preferring to walk this time, now that she knew the route.

"Erin, wait!" Shuichi ran to catch her, "Is there something wrong? I didn't think you'd take it that far, I mean, he's a simpleton and a jerk, but there was no need for what happened back there."

"Yeah, I know, I just snapped. You think I should say I'm sorry?" Erin paused, a deep wheeze shuttering from her chest.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that." He firmly swatted her right under her shoulder blades to break up the wheezing, "Are you ok? You've been wheezing all day and your skin looks waxy, are you getting sick?"

"Oh, no hun, I'm fine. It's just stress, that's all." Erin smiled, stepping up onto her porch and unlocking her new door; Max immediately poked his head out, greeting his master, then giving Shuichi a lick on the back of his hand, his whole torso wrapped in bandages for his broken rib.

"I see Max is back." Shuichi smiled at the pooch.

"Yeah, I picked him up this morning at the animal hospital, that's why I was late. He wasn't as hurt as I thought he was, but it was kind of bad. He just walks around like it's nothing." Erin rubbed his furry ears tenderly. "I'd invite you to stay, but I got some things I need to get done. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, try not to get broken into tonight." He waved goodbye at her, and continued home.

Erin threw her things in the corner, immediately picking up her phone and dialing the number again.

"Listen," She said to the person on the other end, "It's getting worse. I can't control it, we need to get everyone together sooner. Can we get them all together by the end of the week.? I can hold out that long. Okay, I'll meet you there. Bye." She hung up the phone, sliding to the floor. Max came and laid on top of her lap, begging for belly rubs.

"I'm in trouble, boy." Erin tangled her hands in his fur, "You don't happen to have a replaceable essence do you?"

OoOoOo

I have finally updated this story. For those thinking that this is taking too long, relax. It is necessary for all these stupid little details to be in here, because they will all matter in upcoming chapters. So hang in there! I am working on the third and final chapter of The Beat of a Heart, so look for that soon!


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